Kim and Carroll Steal Another Agran Idea — on Irvine City Health Agency

Irvine Council member Tammy Kim and Mike Carroll will have to be the first to endorse the re-election of Council colleague Larry Agran, because without Agran, where would they get ideas on good city policy to steal?

The pair have moved from political plagiarism to outright intellectual property theft by jointly proposing the creation of a new City Health Agency.  This idea was something Agran campaigned on in the fall of 2020 and he proposed the creation of this in April 2021 and it was never seconded.  Instead, Kim and Carroll re-crafted this idea and it will be placed on the city agenda for the February 9 meeting.

Here’s Agran’s memo as a PDF. Argan Memo 4-2021

April 15, 2021
Allocation of Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act

Introduction
This Memo is in response to the Interim City Manager’s invitation to suggest ideas for allocating the $53 million that the City of Irvine will soon receive under
the provisions of the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act. ln Irvine, as elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed institutional gaps
and deficiencies in our municipal government that require immediate and sustained attention if we are to ultimately “Build Back Better” – the slogan of the Biden administration in the aftermath of the pandemic.

ln preparing these recommendations my office directly surveyed 186 Irvine residents. The survey results reveal that affordability and health are top of mind
for Irvine residents as the City sets a course to move past the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, respondents expressed that allocation of these funds be
prioritized in areas such as affordable housing, healthy school environments, Irvine’s COVID-19 response, small business supports, climate action, child care, ,
and more. (For more details on this survey, please visit www.theofficeofcouncilmemberlarryaqran.org.)

ln an effort to respond to these prevailing concerns, I have consulted experts across the City and County; conducted extensive independent research; and collaborated with my team of commissioners, appointees, and staff to recommend the following.

Recommendations
I suggest we focus much of the $53 million coming to Irvine on building institutional capacity in order to alleviate hardship, restore the health and welfare
of our community, and speed the City’s recovery and prosperity in the next two years and beyond.

Specifically, I suggest the following
1. Establish a City Hall Office of Public Health – $6 million over two years. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that our City – which now has a resident population of nearly 300,000 people and a workday population of approximately 500,000 people began the year 2020 with no institutional public health capacity. We have been reliant, instead, on the Orange County Health Agency which itself has been overwhelmed by the pandemic. The cities in Southern California that appear to have done better in meeting the public health challenges of the past year include Pasadena (pop. 141,000) and Long Beach (pop. 463,000) – both of these cities have their own Public Health Departments, built up over the years. I suggest the City establish an Office of Public Health (OPH), initially comprising a chief health officer and several highly trained public health professionals. The OPH would undertake a needs assessment – preferably in consultation with the University of California – Irvine (UCI) – and then recommend policies, programs and best practices for citywide adoption and application. ln addition to the ongoing COVID-19 response, the OPH could also
address mental health and absorb other existing City-driven public health campaigns.

2. Establish a City Office of Small Business Assistance – $4 million over two years. During the pandemic, the City has served as a pass-through for millions of
dollars in federal and state funding to assist hundreds of Irvine businesses. The City, however, lacks the capacity to proactively assist small businesses to
navigate the maze of state and federal programs that can help businesses to survive and succeed. An Office of Small Business Assistance could include a
chief officer and several experienced professionals, such as “navigators” who specialize in helping small businesses to access Federal and State resources.

3. Establish a City Office of Emergency Housing Assistance – $10 million over two years. The pandemic has turned the chronic problem of inadequate affordable housing
into a looming emergency.  Instead of outsourcing the administration of millions of dollars in federal and state emergency housing assistance, the City should
have a small professional staff to secure housing funds and efficiently distribute millions of dollars in ways that support distressed renters and homeowners, and
avoid evictions and homelessness.

4. Invest in School /Viruses & Resource Officers – $6 million over two years. IUSD and TUSD will be receiving tens of millions of dollars in support under the
American Rescue Plan, which may include funds for school nurses essential to the reopening and continued safe operation of schools and addressing the
mental health needs of children. Currently, IUSD and TUSD are staffed with Allocation of Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, school nurses at roughly half the nationally recommended standard of one nurse: one school. Irvine currently provides nearly $10 million per year in both in-kind aid and cash-grants to IUSD and TUSD for school nurses and for the deployment of School Resource Officers – highly trained police officers – in Irvine high schools and middle schools. Recognizing improved school health translates into better community health, the City should enter into an agreement with IUSD and TUSD to expand our support to schools attended by Irvine residents to help eliminate the shortfall in school health and safety services. The City should also recruit and deploy at least five additional School Resource Officers in Irvine high schools and K-8 schools. ln short, annually this would amount to approximately $2 million for school nurses and $1 million for school resource officers.

5. Improve Participation &Access to City Council, Commission, & Committee Meetings – $2 million over two years. The pandemic has introduced the use of Zoom technology for live-commenting over Internet and phone, improving public participation options in City Council meetings beyond pre-pandemic standards. As in-person participation at City Council meetings resumes, this participation should continue and be expanded from City Council to the City’s Commissions, Committees, and Advisory boards.

Additionally, over a two-year period, the viewing and commenting experience should be standardized across City Council, Commissions, and Committee
meetings – with all meetings broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube. These improvements will ensure residents do not need to attend in-person to be
heard by their elected representatives and do not need to acquaint themselves with multiple web applications and access protocols to keep up with City affairs.
Finally, to maximize accessibility for the elderly and hard of hearing, closed captioning should be made available on all City broadcasts.

6. Expand Support for Child Care – $4 million over two years. City-supported childcare programs and facilities should be expanded and made more affordable and accessible through lower sliding-scale fees and additional scholarships for lower-income families. ln order to recruit and retain outstanding
childcare workers, the City should support higher compensation for hourly workers.

7. Accelerate Implementation of Irvine’s Climate Action Plan – $10 million over two years. ln cooperation with UCI and other institutional partners, the City should
accelerate the preparation, adoption and implementation of a comprehensive City of Irvine Climate Action Plan. This should include funding of select investments in pilot project programs (e.9., converting the City transportation fleet to electric vehicles) that can demonstrate an impressive return on investment in terms of de-carbonization. ln turn, this will help establish Irvine’s leadership role in combating climate change.

8. Support Irvine’s Senior Centers & Programs – $2 million over two years.

9. Accelerate Design/Construction of the IBC Trail System – $2 million over two years.  This may include seed money for planning purposes to improve access to
outdoor spaces, active transportation, and otherwise turn the IBC into a more sustainable, resident-friendly community.

To maximize City investments, where applicable, the City may consider a range of funding options including but not limited to: public/private partnerships,
matching grants for eligible organizations, and the direct transfer of City relief funds to qualified community partners. City staff may also be encouraged to
apply for additional COVID-19 pandemic special assistance funding available via Federal and State resources.

 

And here’s the Kim/Carroll memo as a PDF Link:Kim Carroll Health Office   

Re Discussion of the establishment of an Office of Health and Wellness

We (Kim and Carroll)  respectfully ask that this item be placed on the February 8, 2022 agenda for the discussion of the establishment of an Office of Health and Wellness.

BACKGROUND:
COVID-19, and the variants since, support the need for the creation of an Office of Health and Wellness within the City of Irvine. COVID-19 is by far the most contagious disease that we have witnessed to date since the Spanish Flu of 1918. However it is not the first time we have faced serious health concerns. Between 2002 and 2004, we had the global Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic; and between 2009 and 2010 we were dealing with a global H1N1 outbreak.

Since the start of the pandemic, over 29,155 total cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the City of Irvine. The challenges of protecting public health against the spread of COVID19 has brought greater awareness towards gaps in our health coverage, access, and education for Irvine families. Isolation and lockdown have underscored the importance of interdepartmental cooperation to address mental and physical health.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau, the City of Irvine is a community of approximately 307,670 people, with population projections of 400,000 by 2030. A true city by definition with all the challenges, we must be prepared at the local level to act during times of public health emergencies.

ISSUE:
A newly created Office of Health and Wellness would partner with providers, community-based organizations, and the like, along with the County to more closely look at the various determinants of social health that would improve the quality of life of Irvine residents. lt would also address additional issues, including healthcare disparities, access to healthcare, culturally-competent mental health, and overall health and wellness. ln order to deliver culturally competent care, existing services from city departments may also be considered for reorganization and reclassification under a newly created Office of Health and Wellness. The intent of the creation of the Office of Health and Wellness is not to replace services offered by the County, but rather to complement and partner with local health providers, community-based organizations, BeWellOC, and the County.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Direct staff to identify and evaluate existing services or programs that may be better suited to be housed and operated out of the newly created Office of Health and
Wellness.

Direct staff to research best practices and potential funding sources, as well as assess the feasibility of creating an Office of Health and Wellness.

So neither of these cowards could be bothered to offer a second to have this discussion nine months ago while the Delta and Omicron variants continued to impact Irvine residents?

While running for election, Mike Carroll misused public funds to mail notifications of COVID19 town halls he hosted virtually, using city tax dollars during election season to promote his service as a councilmember.  The city council — with Carroll voting — approved a transfer of funds to cover his misuse of this public money. Carroll should have recused himself on this vote but did not.  And since he was elected in 2020, I have no evidence Carroll has hosted another public town hall on COVID 19 or its variants.

This is the third time Kim is shouting “this is my idea” when it clearly isn’t.  Irvine Democrats worked hard to get a 3-2 council majority only to see it morph into A 4-1 pro Five Point majority.  But let’s get those Instagram photos up showing 4 council members posing at city events.  Mayor Farrah Khan is up for re-election this fall and Republicans don’t seem to have a serious candidate as of yet.

The funny part of this discussion about establishing a office of public health and wellness for the city is Agran will likely vote for it.  He campaign on the issue and is on record asking his colleagues for a second.  He’s clearly thought this office through while Kim and Carroll’s proposal is to assign staff homework to figure it out.  Make no mistake — this is not about establishing a needed policy/agency for the city of Irvine — its about who claims credit for it.  Its about Councilmembers Kim and Carroll being small.